6 Reasons to Keep Data Clean in 2018

Got bad data? Make keeping your data clean and current one of your new year’s resolutions in 2018.

Reviewing data metrics and reporting should be a part of the regular weekly—or even daily—schedule for everyone in the organization that works with data, says Elizabeth Crinejo, director, operations, 360 Partners, who spoke at last summer’s B2B Connect to Convert.

Having reports are great—just make sure that you’re seeing reports on the right information for your particular needs, she says. “If you’re high up, you want to see one thing, but if you’re in the weeds, you want to see it on a more granular level.”

Do you trust your data? Crinejo notes that there are six causes of bad data marketers should keep in mind:

Competing Systems: Companies often use different systems as they (and their data needs) grow. When information needs to come together from different platforms to make decisions, it can be challenging for everyone involved.

An Addiction to Vanity Data: This means an overwhelming need to rely on information like impressions and clicks. Living in a legacy world of eyeballs is a challenge that can cost money and time.

No Clear Owner: If no one is keeping track of the big picture, no one will understand what is happening, and this will create siloed experiences.

A Lack of Understanding on How Systems Works: This leads to people not knowing what questions to ask. Different systems record things in different ways, and different devices have different needs. Not understanding how your systems crunch information can lead to disaster.

Having a Non-Data-Driven Culture: You want people talking about your numbers. Everyone who touches the data and makes decisions based on the data should undertstand the data the same way, to help the company grow.

Plain Old Bad Data: This is the basics, such as people not knowing the sources of information, or things not tagged properly. “It makes it hard to have real conversations about the numbers,” Crinejo says.

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